It appears Tony Romo will be leading the Cowboys for seasons to come. Negotiations about a contract extension that would keep Romo in Dallas beyond 2013 were tabled during the season but are expected to be revived soon. Right now, it would be hard for the Cowboys to envision a future without Romo after they’ve become so reliant on his arm. In 2012, Romo attempted and completed more passes than any Cowboys quarterback has in a season.

Team’s primary focus should be upgrading blocking front in draft

Memo to all those who would like to see Tony Romo
released, traded or worse.

Forget it.

Despite his big-game failures, the Cowboys believe Romo, at 32 speeding
toward 33, is still their best option at quarterback to compete in coming years
with the power that is rising in Washington.

Romo is entering the final year of his contract in 2013, but the Cowboys will
negotiate an extension this off-season that will soften his salary-cap number
($16.8 million) and probably lock him up as the team’s starting quarterback for
another five years.

That would take him to 37 — and the Cowboys will point out that John Elway
(38), Joe Montana (33), Roger Staubach (35) and Johnny Unitas (38) all won Super
Bowls at an advanced age.

But those were Hall of Fame quarterbacks with championship pedigrees. Romo is
not Canton-bound.

The salary cap has made pro football a young man’s game. In the last 12
seasons, the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl was Brad Johnson at 33. And
he was a mere offensive caretaker on the defense-driven 2002 Tampa Bay
Buccaneers.

The Cowboys won’t be investing millions in Romo to become a caretaker in
Jason Garrett’s offense. They need Romo to be a gunslinger in the mold of a Drew
Brees or a Tom Brady who can win games with or without a rushing
attack, with or without a defense.

So this off-season should be all about Tony Romo. Every move the
Cowboys make should be an answer to this question: Will this help Tony Romo become a better quarterback?

Upgrading his fleet of receivers should be a priority. But an even greater
priority should be upgrading his blocking front. As quarterback of America’s
Team, Romo is the face of the franchise. The Cowboys need to do a much better
job of protecting that face.

You do that by making an investment in your offensive line. That hasn’t been
a priority for the Cowboys since Jimmy Johnson was roaming the hallways at
Valley Ranch.

When this franchise was winning Super Bowls, the Cowboys flashed the Triplets
at opposing defenses. But what made Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin
Hall of Famers was the best offensive line in the NFL.

The blocking of Mark Stepnoski, Nate Newton, Mark Tuinei, Erik Williams and
Larry Allen gave the Triplets the time they needed to make the plays that
produced greatness. Those blockers were all home-grown.

The Super Bowl-era Cowboys focused on their blocking front in the month of
April, drafting Allen in the second round and Stepnoski and Williams in the
third. Premium selections in the draft’s premium rounds.

The Redskins in the 1980s and Giants at the turn of the 1990s reached
championship heights with great offensive lines. Then came the Cowboys in the
1990s. You win in the East by bullying folks, and you do that up front.

Frankly, it’s a credit to Romo that his arm could produce enough yards and
touchdowns to keep the Cowboys in contention for an NFC East title right down to
the final day of the 2012 season. He was running for his life most of the year
behind a patchwork line and quite often lost the footrace.

There was that seven-sack game against the Browns, four-sack games against
the Bucs and Giants and three-sack games against the Eagles and Bengals. He was
sacked only twice in the finale against Washington but took a beating. The
Redskins do not have a great rush, but they put eight hits on Romo in the
pocket.

Romo is the reason the Cowboys have a chance to win every game they play —
yet they allowed defenses to bang him around all season. Shame on you Jerry
Jones, who dictates the roster makeup. Shame on you Jason Garrett, who dictates
the team’s offensive strategy.

If you’re going to invest in Romo as your future, you’d better do everything
in your power to keep him standing in the pocket to afford him the chance to win
games. He needs protection.

You don’t buy great offensive lines in the NFL. You draft them. Selecting
Tyron Smith in the Top 10 in 2011 was a start. But you need five blockers, not
one. If Jerry Jones invited me to run the Cowboys draft room this April, I’d
look for a tackle in the first round, a center in the second and a guard in
the third.

Better blocking will make Romo a better quarterback, DeMarco Murray a better
runner and the Cowboys a better offense. All that would make the Cowboys a
better team.

Romo gives the Cowboys a chance. Now the Cowboys need a better blocking front
to give him a chance.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.